Now Featuring

1. Now Featuring El Yunque By Jessica Potts

2. What? • El Yunque, also known as The Caribbean National Forest, is a tropical rain forest found in eastern Puerto Rico. • Since Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, El Yunque is the only Tropical Rain Forest in the United States’ National Forest System. • El Yunque gets its name from the cloud-covered mountains. The native Tiano people called these mountain tops "yuke," after the Indian spirit Yuquiye, which means "white lands.“ • El Yunque is approximately 28,000 acres of tropical forest

3. Where? • El Yunque is located in eastern Puerto Rico, in the rugged Sierra de Luquillo Mountains, about 25 miles southeast of San Juan. • The forest covers lands of seven municipalities: Canóvanas, Las Piedras, Luquillo, Fajardo, Ceiba, Naguabo, and Rio Grande, over more than 28,000 acres. • El Yunque is part of the Luquillo range and is divided into four forests: Tabonuco Forest, Palo Colorado Forest, Palma Sierra Forest and En Las Nubes Forest – The Cloud Forest. • Elevation varies between 330 to 3,530 above sea level.

4. Timeline of History • 1876 – Puerto Rico was still under Spanish rule as a colony. King Alfonso XII of Spain proclaimed the Luquillo Forest a Crown Reserve. El Yunque became one of the oldest forest reserves in the Western Hemisphere. • 1898 – As part of the settlement of the Spanish-American War, the Treaty of Paris cedes control of Puerto Rico to the United States. Therefore, the land of El Yunque was passed from Spain to the United States. • 1903 – President Theodore Roosevelt of the United States, designated the 5,116 acre former Crown Reserve to be the "Luquillo Forest Reserve” and the only tropical rain forest in the National Forest System. • 1905 – The USDA Bureau of Forestry published the report "Luquillo Forest Reserve Puerto Rico." This was the first detailed report about the forest and its resources. • 1907 – The Luquillo Forest Reserve was re-named the Luquillo National Forest. The forest was to be supervised by the newly organized (1905) US Forest Service. • 1909 – The Puerto Rico Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor requests the Chief Forester of the US Forest Service for permission to hire guards to prevent trespassing by charcoal cutters in the Luquillo Forest Reserve. • 1916 – The first boundary survey by Puerto Rican Government Engineers indicates the Luquillo National Forest is 12,443 acres. • 1917 – The first Forest Supervisor of the Luquillo Forest Reserve and Chief Forester of Puerto Rico was appointed. Puerto Rico Forest Service was created within the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture and Labor and placed under federal forest supervisor.

5. Timeline of History • 1920 – The first sawmill serving the National Forest is established in the Sabana valley. • 1926 –ion of initial portions of PR Road 191, the main access to the Forest, began. Construct • 1931 – First forest plantations (mahogany) are established within the Luquillo National Forest. • 1933 – At the request of President Franklin Roosevelt, Congress enacted the Federal Emergency Conservation Program. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) programs begin in the Luquillo National Forest, under Forest Supervisor, William H. Barbour’s control. Projects include “building a road through the cliffs and jungles of the Luquillo Mountains”, reforestation, recreational and administrative improvements. Most of the present-day El Yunque recreation area was constructed at this time. • 1935 – The Luquillo National Forest was renamed Caribbean National Forest or the El Yunque National Forest Its total area was more than 20,000 acres due to land grants, donations, and purchases of privately owned parcels. 1946 – The El Yunque National Forest was designated an Insular Wildlife Refuge by the US Department of Agriculture. • 1956 – The El Yunque National Forest was additionally designated the "Luquillo Experimental Forest," to recognize the growing importance of the scientific research being conducted in the forest. Twenty years later it would be designated as an important a part of the United Nations International Network of Biosphere Reserves. • 1968 – The Puerto Rican Parrot’ only remaining natural habitat was the El Yunque National Forest. Formal research efforts were begun to save the endangered animal with the collaboration of the USDA Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, PR Department of Natural Resources, and the World Wildlife Fund.

6. Timeline of History • 1981 – Puerto Rico Telephone Company Communication Tower constructed on El Yunque Mt. • 1982 –The El Yunque National Forest's Field Office moved from Sabana to newly constructed Catalina Work Center at the main entrance to the forest. • 1989 – Hurricane Hugo caused major damage to the island of Puerto Rico, and El Yunque National Forest facilities, including the Catalina Work Center and the forest's recreational areas, and the animals living in the forest. • 1996 – The El Portal Tropical Forest Center open with9, 800 square feet of exhibit space to highlight public education and demonstrate the importance of forest conservation. • 1997 – The El Yunque National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest Land and Resource Management Plan was approved. Additionally, a formal environmental education teacher training program is developed, in partnership with local schools to enhance classroom experiences for middle and high school students and compliment the guided tours. • 1998 – Hurricane Georges struck the island causing massive devastation, followed by extensive hurricane recovery efforts. During this year the devastating Pink Mealy Bug was first discovered in the forest. The Puerto Rican Department of Agriculture responds promptly with the introduction of a parasitic wasp to destroy this voracious insect. • 2001 – A Transportation Study of the El Yunque National Forest was complete. It recommended a mass-transit system for PR 191, the main access to the forest, to relieve traffic congestion and provide additional visitor access to the forest's recreational areas. A population of over 1500 of the spectacular dwarf forest orchid was recorded in the El Yunque National Forest's Elfin Woods area in the same year.

7. Who? • Over 240 species of trees and plants inhabit El Yunque’s dense forest. 26 of these 240 species are found only at El Yunque. • El Yunque is a wildlife refuge, therefore hunting is not permitted. • At El Yunque there 50 species of birds, 11 species of bats, 8 species of lizards, and 13 species of coquí (a tree frog). Small insects buzz around. Also, several species of shrimp and fish can be found here. • No large primates such as gorillas or monkeys, no wild pigs or alligators are found in El Yunque. • The Forest contains rare wildlife including the Puerto Rican Parrot which is one of the ten most endangered species of birds in the world. • The Puerto Rican Boa, which can reach a length of 90 inches, can be found here, however snakes are rare. • Air plants such as orchids, grow on the trunks and branches of the trees, while the woody air plant vines called, lianas, hang from and often wrap around the trunks and limbs of the mahogany, teak, and rosewood trees.

8. Abiotic Data • In El Yunque it rains daily, year-round with slightly more rain in the winter; on average 200 inches per year. Trade winds bring heavy rainfall to El Yunque. Additionally, Tropical storms and hurricanes frequently pass over Puerto Rico and El Yunque. The temperature and length of daylight remain fairly constant throughout the year. The temperature is warm, and ranges from 78 to 82°F and at lower elevations at 63.5°F in the mountains. All these factors provide a year-round growing season. However, nutrients are quickly washed away from soil by all of the heavy rains. The elevations at El Yunque vary from about 300 to 3500 feet, with the highest point being Pico del Toro at3542 feet. El Yunque Peak rises 3494 feet among the mountains of Sierra de Luquillo. The mountain slopes often angle up at more than 45°. El Yunque has four kinds of tropical forest: subtropical rain forest above 1968 feet, cloud forest high in the mountains, high wet forest between these two, and lowland wet forest at the lower elevations. The tropical forest also has four distinct layers, the forest floor, the understory, the canopy, and the emergent layer.

9. Present Issues • Rain forests are a vital part of the environment. They give us fresher cleaner air, by taking large amounts of carbon dioxide out of the air. • El Yunque Tropical Rain Forest is in danger of being destroyed. Too many trees have been cut down and civilization is being pushed too close to the forest. If the forest disappears, so will animals that call the forest home. • Many plants and animals that inhabit the forest are already in danger of extinction

10. El Yunque is an exceptional choice if you are looking for a rainforest experience. • The forest is open 7 days a week from dawn to 6pm. There are no entrance fees to visit the forest. If you stop at the El Portal Visitors Center there is a $3 per person fee. Forest Tours given by guide/interpreters, however, you do not need a guide to see the rainforest as the trails are clearly marked. If you sign up for the Forest Service guided one hour tour you pay a donation of $5. per person. Camping is allowed in El Yunque with a free permit. But it's pretty wet and there are no designated camping areas. • The forest draws more than one million visitors annually. El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico is among the 28 finalists chosen for the last phase of voting in the Seven Natural Wonders of the World contest. El Yunque is running in the parks and natural reserves category. Puerto Rico’s rainforest is among the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, The Amazon rain forest, the Dead Sea, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, in the running.

11. Works Cited • Rivera, Magaly . Welcome to Puerto Rico. 2010. 16 July. 2010 <http://welcome.topuertorico.org/index.shtml>. • EL BORICUA. EL YUNQUE . 1 July. 2010. 16 July. 2010 <http://www.elboricua.com/boricuakids_elyunque.html>. • El Yunque Rain Forest, Puerto Rico . 2010. 16 July. 2010 <http://www.elyunque.com/elyunque.htm>. • El Yunque National Rain Forest. 15 July. 2010. 16 July. 2010 <http://www.map-puerto-rico.com/el-yunque-national-forest.html>. • El Yunque National Forest. 2010. 16 July. 2010 <http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/caribbean/index.shtml>. • Caribbean National Forest . . 17 July. 2010 <http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel-ta-caribbean-national-forest-puerto-rico-sidwcmdev_066598.html>. • El Yunque Rainforest Puerto Rico. . 17 July. 2010 <http://wallpapers-free.co.uk/background/nature/mountains/el-yunque-rainforest-puerto-rico/>. • Puerto Rico Gallery. 1 August. 2010. 17 August. 2010 <http://www.wunderground.com/blog/jlpr2/comment.html?entrynum=0>. • . . . 17 July. 2010 <http://puertoricoisland.net/blog2/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/el-yunque.jpg>. • ...20July.2010<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/rain_forest_of_el_yunque,_puerto_rico.jpg>. • . . . 20 July. 2010 <http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/51/5b/2e/cloud-forest-on-top-of.jpg>. • . El Yunque. 1 Nov. 2005. 20 July. 2010 <http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1493685970067739382vodven>.